Monday’s practice had a quicker pace. The Lipscomb Bisons baseball team was hitting a little harder, running a little faster and fielding the ball quickly.

The mental approach is always better when you are coming off of a win. But when you win three in a row for the first time in the season, it is hard not to feel like you are walking three feet off of the ground. Tuesday afternoon at 6 the Bisons play Tennessee Tech from the Ohio Valley Conference at Ken Dugan Field at Stephen L. Marsh Stadium. The two teams will meet against Wednesday at 6 in Cookeville.

Bisons coach Jeff Forehand is hoping that his team doesn’t crash. The Bisons are 10-18. Tennessee Tech, which has lost its last six games, is 11-17.

“Anytime you win a few games in a row you hope you are going to get momentum going into the next games,” Forehand said. “We had more pep in our steps. The combination of three wins and some pretty weather had everybody’s heart beats going a little faster. We hope this spills over into Tuesday and Wednesday and back into next weekend.

“Tennessee Tech has had some hard knocks like we have. They are hitting well over .300 as a team. They have a pretty solid offense."

Forehand plans to start freshman left-hander Blake Fonfara Tuesday. It will be his fifth appearance and second start. He is 0-0 with a 12.86 earned run average.

The Bisons will send senior right-hander Matt Bowling to the mound Wednesday. This will be his 10th appearance and second start. He is 0-3 with a 17.00 ERA.

“Obviously, in the mid-week games we will get as much as we can out of the starters. Then everybody else will pitch an inning or two to get us ready for the weekend.”

The Bisons continue to improve offensively. Lee Wilson, Zach Messer and Tyler Wilson each have 12 multi-hit games. They are tied for the team lead. Ryan Wilkins has 10.

“Starting out we couldn’t get more than a couple of people going at the plate,” Forehand said. “These guys are hopefully all going to be hot at the same time at the plate.”

Messer also leads the team with 10 multi-RBI games. Forehand expected this type of offensive production from Messer.

“He has had several opportunities to drive in some runs,” Forehand said. “He is the type of player who can definitely lead you on offense. I hope he can keep on doing it.

“He started off kind of slow. I think he is hitting his stride now. He is a threat every time he comes up to the plate. Every time he comes to the plate I have the feeling he is going to hit it hard somewhere. I think everyone in the park expects him to hit the ball hard.”